2,432 Shares in Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) Acquired by Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC

Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,432 shares of the social networking company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,000. Meta Platforms comprises about 1.3% of Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of META. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Marshall & Sterling Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $45,000. Cordant Inc. acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Finally, Conquis Financial LLC acquired a new position in Meta Platforms during the fourth quarter worth $59,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.91% of the company’s stock.

Meta Platforms Price Performance

Shares of META opened at $639.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.62 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $568.53 and its 200-day moving average is $605.22. Meta Platforms, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $442.65 and a fifty-two week high of $740.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 2.98 and a quick ratio of 2.98.

Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The social networking company reported $6.43 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.33 by $1.10. Meta Platforms had a net margin of 37.91% and a return on equity of 38.17%. The business had revenue of $42.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $41.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.71 earnings per share. Meta Platforms’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Meta Platforms, Inc. will post 26.7 EPS for the current year.

Meta Platforms Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.525 per share. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.33%. This is a positive change from Meta Platforms’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Meta Platforms’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jennifer Newstead sold 921 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $592.52, for a total transaction of $545,710.92. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,656 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,201,693.12. This trade represents a 3.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Javier Olivan sold 4,706 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Saturday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $736.67, for a total transaction of $3,466,769.02. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 20,935 shares in the company, valued at $15,422,186.45. The trade was a 18.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 118,992 shares of company stock valued at $82,831,650. 13.71% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $725.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Moffett Nathanson increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $525.00 to $605.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $615.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Meta Platforms from $685.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, thirty-seven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $696.45.

Meta Platforms Profile

Meta Platforms, Inc engages in the development of products that enable people to connect and share with friends and family through mobile devices, personal computers, virtual reality headsets, and wearables worldwide. It operates in two segments, Family of Apps and Reality Labs. The Family of Apps segment offers Facebook, which enables people to share, discuss, discover, and connect with interests; Instagram, a community for sharing photos, videos, and private messages, as well as feed, stories, reels, video, live, and shops; Messenger, a messaging application for people to connect with friends, family, communities, and businesses across platforms and devices through text, audio, and video calls; and WhatsApp, a messaging application that is used by people and businesses to communicate and transact privately.